1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sheet metal shears and more particularly pertains to a new sheet metal shears for protecting from injury the hand of a user holding the sheet metal shears while cutting a piece of sheet metal.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of sheet metal shears is known in the prior art. More specifically, sheet metal shears heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 4,209,901; U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,521; U.S. Pat. No. Des 101,791; U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,016; U.S. Pat. No. 2,272,753; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,342.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new sheet metal shears. The inventive device includes sheet metal shears having a pair arms pivotally coupled together with each arm having a cutting blade and a lever handle. The lever handle of one of the arms has a closed finger loop distal the cutting blade of the one arm. The lever handle of the other arm has a generally U-shaped open finger loop distal the cutting blade of the other arm. The open finger loop has a pair of space apart elongate portions and an arcuate portion connecting the elongate portions of the open finger loop together. A first of the elongate portions connects the open finger loop to the lever handle of the other arm. A second elongate portion has an arcuate region for forcing a portion of the sheet metal cut by the cutting blades away from the open finger loop to protect the hand of the user from injury from the cut edges of the sheet metal while the user is cutting the sheet metal.
In these respects, the sheet metal shears according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of protecting from injury the hand of a user holding the sheet metal shears while cutting a piece of sheet metal.